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The Children and Creativity Collector Coin for Child Creativity

May 3rd, 2010 – The Children and creativity collector coin is the first official Finnish collector coin to be selected by public vote. Visitors to the Mint of Finland website can vote for their favourite among 11 potential coin designs until June 18. The artworks for vote were developped by students at high schools of the visual arts.

Two examples for the coins you can vote for.

Mint of Finland will use the winner to mint the next commemorative coin to be issued at Heureka on October 20. All visitors to the Mint of Finland website may participate in the vote. All voters will participate in a raffle for a Children and creativity collector coin.

The Collector Coin Committee to modernize traditions in FinlandThe Collector Coin committee will modernize the traditional procedure by allowing the public to select the collector coin design by voting for their favorites among those pre-selected by the committee. Until now, the Collector Coin Committee established by the Finnish Ministry of Finance has always chosen the theme for the collector coin.The Collector Coin Committee consists of permanent members and the experts they have invited to participate on the committee. Professor Yrjö Sotamaa of the University of Art and Design chairs the committee. The permanent members of the committee include Mint of Finland Ltd.'s Managing Director Maarit Aarni-Sirviö, Senior Budget Secretary Marja Kirppu from the Ministry of Finance, docent Maria Lähteenmäki from the University of Helsinki and curator Heikki Halme of the Ateneum Art Museum.

Competing artworks designed by students from high schools of the visual artsThe competing artworks were done by students at the Helsinki Upper Secondary School of the Visual Arts, the Kajaani Upper Secondary School, the Lapinlahti Upper Secondary School, the Savonlinna Senior Secondary School of Art and the Tiirismaa Upper Secondary School in Lahti.Of the 48 works submitted for the competition, the Children and creativity collector coin jury chose 11 artworks for the public vote. "The winner was to be chosen among 10 candidates. However, the level of the artwork submitted was extremely high, which is why we chose one extra work as well," says Yrjö Sotamaa, Chairman of the Collector Coin committee. A scholarship is granted to each high school of the arts. In addition, the three most popular works will all receive an award.

Creativity – a child's rightThe Children and creativity collector coin is a part of the Ethical collector coins set. Creativity is mankind's most valuable asset – it leads to a good life and a healthy society and culture. Children must be encouraged to think and express themselves creatively.The design competition for the ethical collector coin has emphasized vision and message instead of technical know-how. The Children and creativity collector coin competition jury includes the following expert members: special expert Sara Park from UNICEF, Communications Manager Liisa Partio from the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare and Executive Manager Erja Väyrynen from the Finnish art teachers' union Kuvataideopettajat ry.